drawing, painting, watercolor
tree
drawing
painting
landscape
watercolor
forest
geometric
expressionism
abstraction
watercolour bleed
watercolor
Copyright: Public Domain
Paul Klee made ‘Tannenwald’ using watercolor, and, gosh, it's like looking into a magical forest. I can see Klee now, dipping his brush, maybe a bit nervous, then WHAM, laying down these juicy, translucent marks. It's this rhythm of colors that gets me - the earthy browns and greens, punctuated by these quirky lavender and blue stripes. It's not just a forest; it's a forest of feelings. Klee’s work always felt like he was chasing after something just beyond words. I think of Agnes Martin, and how she used grids to find a sense of the infinite. Klee’s forest feels infinite too, but in a more playful, less rigid way. Each stroke feels like a note in a song, and each little square like a tiny, personal revelation. It reminds me that painting isn’t just about showing what’s there, but about hinting at what could be.
Comments
The rich palette of this watercolour resounds with the artist’s experience of a trip to Africa in April 1914. Here Klee has translated the trunks and branches into a weave of colour zones, rectangles, and short strokes. The variety of forms, but also the juxtaposition of harmonious and contrasting hues sets the scene in motion. Like Robert Delaunay, Klee regarded nature as an ongoing process. His ‘Fir Forest’ watercolour accordingly does not provide us with a depiction of nature’s outward appearance but points instead to its underlying laws.
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